Women in Property North West tours Sunlight House

18 February 2026

Sunlight House, the Grade II listed building in Manchester’s City Centre that recently underwent a refurbishment, was the venue for Women in Property North West’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in February.

Nicola Sacco, Project Lead and Associate Structural Engineer on the scheme, joined the AGM to provide a tour of the recently refurbished building, sharing insights on Eckersley O’Callaghan’s involvement on the now completed building.

Originally completed in 1932 by Joseph Sunlight, this Grade II listed steel-framed building with a Portland stone facade and in-situ concrete floors required careful intervention to introduce new retail and restaurant units, reconfigure the ground floor, and deliver upgraded CAT A office space alongside a new basement gym.

As a 100 year old Grade II listed building, many elements of the steel frame, concrete floors and Portland stone facade were in moderate to poor condition, demanding sensitive repair strategies to extend the building’s life without compromising its historic fabric. At the same time, the client’s vision for high quality CAT A office space and a gym in the basement introduced stringent modern requirements for safety, comfort and aesthetics. Our role focused on helping the client and design team identify the balance between these competing priorities.

As the building was progressively stripped back, we led further investigations to refine the scope of repairs and ensure compliance with current standards. By consulting archive drawings and working closely with the contractor, we minimised intrusive surveys and avoided unnecessary disruption to historic fabric. We revisited historical design codes and undertook refined structural assessments to justify retention of the existing frame and floors wherever possible, reducing cost, programme risk and embodied carbon.

Where intervention was unavoidable, we developed solutions to suit the constraints of each area. Innovative techniques such as fibre-reinforced concrete overlays and cathodic protection were combined with pragmatic measures including stone crack pinning and localised re-support of severely corroded steel members. This blend of new technology and traditional repair methods enabled us to address deterioration sensitively while ensuring long-term performance.

Project Team: Nicola Sacco, Duncan Walters, Sam Winder, Tim Lui
Client: Karrev
Architect: Anomaly